Easyboot Mini Hoof Boots

[Chamomile]

I thought I would share a my experience of the Easyboot MIni Hoof Boot. I bought them out of desperation because my mare is rehabilitating her feet from poor hoof care and at least one founder episode, probably from last year.

I guess I'll start at the beginning with her before and after hoof photos...

The photo on the left is her hoof right after I brought her home. The photo on the right is her hoof now! I took that photo yesterday. The remodeling is from good feed, (Crypto Aero Wholefood Horse Feed, hay 24/7 and loose salt) good trimming, and exercise!

This is her right front before and after. This hoof was in the shade but has the same sheen that the other does! I'm so happy with how healthy her feet are looking. The rest of her is looking pretty darn good too.

Now onto the boots. I wasn't sure about them because they have such an odd look. I wasn't sure if they would be comfy, if they would be too tall (they look so awkward!) and how they would affect the horse when moving. But they were my only option! The other miniature horse boots out there just didn't look they would hold up to the kind of stuff we do.

I was pleasantly surprised by how nice these boots are! They came in the cutest little plastic jars and they are so lightweight! I still took my time and took shorter walks for about a week to allow Bonnie time to get used to them but she really didn't mind them from the beginning! The thickness actually seemed to help her sit back and use her butt more. She seemed more fluid through the shoulders and her gait was super relaxed. She trotted right out from the start!

I'm not sure how these would work in the water as they don't have any sort of drain system. I'm afraid they would fill up and then possibly rub the mini's coronet band. At first I was worried about how high they come up on the pastern, but they don't bother her at all and have actually squished down a bit with use.

Also today I took the time to look them over even more closely and realized that the hoof sits down inside that big fat sole nearly 1/2 an inch! Making them not as tall as they appear.

The bottom of my thumb marks where the hoof sits inside the boot...

Here is a video of Bonnie walking down the road wearing the boots. This is a fairly steep part of the road and can be slippery. These boots don't slip! They have very good traction.

https://youtu.be/FIOnpNjxtxM

And another video of Bonnie blazing her own trail through the enormous sage bush. She was literally crawling through the bushes and those boots didn't move at all! They got a little beat up but the velcro held. They didn't even turn on her feet.

https://youtu.be/Fz5t5x6y_os

I'm very happy with these! I'm saving my pennies to get another pair for my other mare, Sky. She is wearing an old pair of boots that I had specially made many years ago. They are fine for now but the Easyboot Mini Hoof Boots are so much easier to put on!

 

[MajorClementine]

Fantastic. Thanks for the review. I've been wondering about these. Clementine typically doesn't need boots. She has good feet and we don't drive enough to wear them down. However, that may change due to my son starting school this year and I was also wondering about them for traction.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Very informative. Thanks!

 

[Shari]

Is very nice to see Easy Boots now make a Mini horse sized boot.

I ended up getting Maggie some Soft Ride boots because of her front hoof issues. Think the Easy Boots are cheaper?

 

[Chamomile]

From what I could see while doing a little research for you the Soft Ride boot is not the same thing as the Easyboot Mini. The Soft Ride boot looks like it's a therapeutic boot for horses suffering bouts of laminitis. Maybe they are not for heavy use on roads for driving? Or tough situations when hiking? I'm not sure, but based on what I saw that's what I understood. Do you use them for road driving? They do not look quite as sturdy as the Easyboot Mini... As you can tell from the video of my mare climbing through the sage bushes these boots can take a beating! We climb around in some pretty rough country with tons of rocks and bushes. I needed something that would hold up and not pick up every single weed

It's possible to get the Easyboot Mini for $38.25 a boot from Valley Vet: https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=98392ac6-e838-4dc2-bd06-19181ab68e18&gas=mini%20horse%20boots

I paid a bit more for mine because I needed them sooner that I was going to be able to get them from Valley Vet as they were on back order and I was told by EasyCare that I couldn't get them until the end of August. I found my boots on eBay and paid $98 all total for two boots with shipping. When ordering from Valley Vet you can get free shipping! That is where I will order my next pair for my other mare. I hope that helps!

 

[Silver City Heritage Farmstead]

Thank you so much for sharing this Chamomile. I particularly liked your clear photos! Did you have to do any hoof measurements for sizing? What's the longest length of time she's worn them? How frequently? Have you had the opportunity to test them on slippery surfaces?

I'm not working my Spanky consistently yet, but need to get on it sooner rather than later. I might need to invest in these for his therapy work though. Thanks in advance for answering my questions.

Julie in NC

 

[Chamomile]

I'm glad my pictures helped! I knew what I wanted to see before I bought mine and I couldn't find any photos like these online anywhere so I took them myself thinking someone else may like these angles!

I did have to measure her feet for these. She measured 76mm wide and long. Her feet are nice and round. The 76mm size is the 3 in the mini hoof boot. (That's the largest of the mini hoof boot after that you're into the pony size!)

We walk between 2 and 4 miles a day and she usually ends up wearing them for about 2 hours. She is walking or trotting the entire time she is wearing them.

I haven't had a chance to use them on slippery surfaces beyond the very steep and rocky road we walk down. She doesn't slide on that, but I realize you are thinking about shiny floors. I don't take my minis to any buildings with floors like that so I don't have a way to try that for you! The bottoms of the boots are really nice. They have aggressive tread but are a nice rubber so I don't think they would be slippery.

I love the soft, squishy top half of these boots. They are very very easy to clean and seem quite comfortable for the mini. I hope that helps!!

 

[sayyadina]

I don't fully understand why SoftRides are the way they are. They don't hold up well during turnout, and the design isn't flexible enough for true rehab purposes. They might be good for shipping shod horses, but I'm not sure. They caused my foundered pony a lot of pain during a bout of acute laminitis. From standing uncomfortably to down and unwilling to stand. Took them off and got her a pair of EasyBoot Transitions w/ pads, and she was back up. Debris gets in SoftRides very easily.

The EasyBoot Mini can be used for work or therapy. IMO, that makes it a better product. Any of EasyBoot's riding boots can be used for therapy, depending on what that horse needs. I wound up moving to the EasyBoot Epic for my pony, since they're a better fit for her hooves.

Ideally, you want to use pads in boots to mimic the way the bare hoof would be loaded on the ground. I get several different foam camping mattresses from Walmart, all different densities, and use those. First I make a template of the hoof (or frog). Then I use that to make up more pads. Gold Bond powder can be used to help keep things dry in boots, when using them for therapy. No Thrush powder is good to prevent thrush.